Oldest Actors to Play Teenagers

Age Is Just a Number

"Clueless," "Happy Days" and "Dirty Dancing" are among the most classic tales to hit the big or small screen. There's just one problem with these gems. The actors who star in them are way older than their characters.

Keep clicking to see how old these stars were when they played teens, as well as more actors who portrayed youngsters while nearing their middle ages. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photos: Paramount, AP, Vestron)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

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"Clueless," "Happy Days" and "Dirty Dancing" are among the most classic tales to hit the big or small screen. There's just one problem with these gems. The actors who star in them are way older than their characters.

Keep clicking to see how old these stars were when they played teens, as well as more actors who portrayed youngsters while nearing their middle ages. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photos: Paramount, AP, Vestron)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

If Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli always seemed a little more mature than innocent Richie Cunningham, it's because the actor who played him, Henry Winkler, was 29. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: AP)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Actor Tobey Maguire was much older than his "Spider-Man" character Peter Parker in the 2002 film. Maguire was 27 years old when he put on the Spidey suit to play the shy teen. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Columbia Pictures)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Actress Gabrielle Carteris was 29 years old when she started playing 16-year-old Andrea Zuckerman on the original "Beverly Hills, 90210." She was the oldest person ever to play a teen on television at the time. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Fox)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Her nickname was Baby in the movie, but Jennifer Grey was no child during the filming of "Dirty Dancing." The actress, who portrayed a high school-aged girl on summer vacation, was 27 at the time of filming. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Vestron Pictures)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Alan Ruck was 30 years old when he portrayed brooding high school senior Cameron alongside Matthew Broderick (who was 24 at the time) in 1986's "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Paramount)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Training a wild horse wasn't the hardest thing actress Allison Lohman, then 26, had to do during the filming of 2006's "Flicka." Lohman had to act ten years her junior in order to play the part of 16-year-old Katy McLaughlin. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: 20th Century Fox)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Sissy Spacek fooled everyone into thinking she was an innocent high school senior in 1976's "Carrie," but that wasn't the case. The actress was actually 27 during the filming of the classic horror film. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: United Artists)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.